UB student Eric Vinson and Terrial Streppa, a Gasport resident, were reported missing Thursday and discovered Monday in a car which had gone off North Canal Road in Lockport into the Erie Canal.
Vinson and Streppa reportedly met in a bar late Wednesday night when Vinson was asked by the bartender to drive an intoxicated Streppa home, although the two were not previously acquainted. The two left the bar together, but according to a fax sent to UB by Catherine Turner, a friend of the Vinson family, Vinson was unable to get the car keys from Streppa and ended up in the passenger seat.
One of the residents near the accident site reported hearing what sounded like a crash around 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Streppa's vehicle and the two bodies were not discovered until Monday, although the two were reported missing Thursday.
Both bodies were sent to Erie County Medical Center for autopsy. The investigation into the deaths remains open, although it has tentatively been labeled an accident.
UB was notified of the deaths Tuesday and has been contacting Vinson's family, friends and professors.
Eric Vinson
Vinson was a senior communications major at UB who transferred here a year and half ago from Niagara Community College, and worked part-time at De Flippo's Restaurant. He was born April 5, 1980, in Gainesville, Fla., but lived in Lockport prior to his death.
Vinson is survived by a brother, Jonathan; and his parents, Carl and Theresa Pacheco Vinson.
Terrial Streppa
Streppa was born Nov. 11, 1979, in Lockport. She attended Lockport High School.
Streppa worked at the Sea Breeze Restaurant in Gasport. She is survived by two children, Lea and Tyler Pendergrass; her mother Joan; three sisters and one brother.
Information in this box was taken from obituaries published in the Oct. 17 Lockport Union-Sun & Journal.
